Low dose (1 microg) ACTH test in the evaluation of adrenal dysfunction in pre-clinical Addison's disease

What Was Tested

This clinical trial paper looks at ACTH (Corticotropin).

The presence of 21-hydroxylase autoantibodies (21OHAb) is a marker of adrenal autoimmunity and can be used to identify subjects with pre-clinical Addison's disease.

The aim of their study was to evaluate the clinical use of the LDT in the diagnosis of early adrenocortical dysfunction in patients with adrenal autoantibodies.

Who Took Part

According to the abstract, 12 volunteers were involved.

By PubMed's age tags, the people studied were children, teenagers, adults, middle-aged adults and older adults, both men and women.

Firstly, the researchers evaluated the cortisol responses to both a LDT and a HDT in a group of 12 healthy volunteers.

The researchers then performed a LDT in 11 subjects positive for 21OHAb, but without clinical signs of Addison's disease identified by screening 920 patients with one or more organ-specific autoimmune diseases.

How the Study Was Run

In all cases, the LDT was followed by a sequential HDT which was used as a control test of the sensitivity and specificity of the LDT.

What Was Measured

The subject headings attached to it are Addison Disease, Adrenal Cortex, Adrenal Cortex Function Tests, Adrenocorticotropic Hormone, Autoantibodies, Hydrocortisone and Sensitivity and Specificity.

What This Means in Plain Language

This is a clinical trial of ACTH (Corticotropin) in 12 volunteers.

With fewer than 40 people, it is a small study, so it is better read as an early signal for further research than as a settled answer.

Results are reported in around 5 sentences of the abstract; we leave them to the paper itself rather than summarise them.

The publication is from 2000 (Clinical endocrinology), a journal based in England.

More context: the ACTH (Corticotropin) compound page, all human trials.